The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1887-09-24

healthy human Draln SIMPLY as an
experiment. That he did make the
attempt, and did succeed in accom-
plishing the object, is proven by an
entry made under date of May 30.
Stripped of the greater part Of its
technical verbage, the history of the
operation is as follows: 81 feel that
l have brought down the anger of
heaven upon my head in attempting
to tamper with the noblest part of
the Creators handiwork. Henry
Bastian, who has been beneath my
roof since childhood, still lives. He
exists, he breathes, he digests, but
that is all. He is no longer an enti-
ty, and by my hand. To you, my
beloved wife, / confde this horrible
secret, and beg of you to do all you
can to prevent my memory from
being tarnished, because feel the
grave to be near You will now
know why the lad was sent to an
asylum. 1t WIS b ecause his presenc
was to me constant knife in my
soul. Know then, dear --, that
three months ago yesterday" (this
is an unexplainablc discrepancy II
determined to perform an act which
would make me famous in the eyes
of the scientific world. 1t has made
me infamous in the eyes of God and
of all men. You have toiled pa
tiently with me in my studies, and
will understand what l am about to
relate. All ask is that the children
may never know it, and that you
will keep my secret locked within
your own breast.
"A remark made by the lad some
time ago led me to think that 1
could safely remove a portion of the
cerebum, and thus prove the exist
ence of separate functions. Henry
talked with me about it, and without
any preliminary thought offered to
submit himself as a subject. l did
not take kindly to the idea at first,
but by degrees became accustomed
to it, and then accepted it. On the
morning of that terrible day plac-
ed Henry in the operating chair in
the back office, first telling him
what intended to do. l admins
tered five ounces of ether, and when
he was thoroughly under its inAu-
r ence used the trephine. A semi
circular opening was made in the
right parietal bone, one and one
half inches above and in front o.
the ear. The brain was exposed
and then without hesitation l inser
ted Il curette Ga little SCOOP and
pushed it forward toward the pos
terror part of the longitudinal ifs
r sure, where phrenology teaches us
, the seat of veneration lies.
, An ounce of gray matter was re
| moved, and then fearing to risk q
further removal that day, replaced
the flap of the scalp, and when the
} patient came to himself administer
. ed an arterial sedative. There was
= q slight hemorrhage, but nothing
dangerous, and as the sedativc
! brought the pulse down to fifty,
l had no fear of inflammation. Wher
/ the effects of the an@sthetic hat
f passed off entirely l was a littlt
| alarmed at the result of my work
There was a twitching of the entire
= muscular system in the left side
t of the mouth. l shall never forge
: the expression of the boys eyes t.
my dying day. His right eye wai
sparkling and intelligent, but - thu
other was dead and stony, and th'
contrast between the two was amaz
| ingly strange. A singular effect wai
t produced upon the larynx. HI
was unable to speak, seemingly, anC
gave utterance to unintelligiblt
c sounds from one side of the mouth
e The result was somewhat unexpect
ed, l must confess, and l then de,
g termined to take the desperate
| chance of removing corresponding
cell from the left side to equalize tn,
robbery. You will recollect how
shocked you were at that speak Of
to learn from me that Henry hac
suddenly become an idiot. l re
: member well the wicked lie | tolC
to hide my crime. My theory abou
equalization was altogether unsounC
as l afterGard proved, because
falsely reasoned that the removal o
cell from the right hemisphere O
the brain would act on the righ
!, side of the muscular and nervou
systems. That was in contradiction
> to my early teaching, and was a con
clusion drawn from an experimen
: 1 made with a rabbit. l do no
a wish to enter too minutely into tn
: details of the second operation ant
d of the terrible thoughts that thel